Just gotta go with my heart.
Same reason I don't watch Medical Dramas. I don't get entertainment by watching sick kids and personal trauma.
It's just me.

I worked on the new research tower for Sick Kids (it's in Toronto). The place is every bit as amazing as that ad portrays

Yes, LA is really fucked up. So is California in general. And so are my apocryphal firefighters and policemen.

The average pay for firefighters you linked me to doesn't account for benefits and pension, does it? That's just base salary. So, if the average pay for firefighters is just under $44k, then that's pretty much their taxable income because I cannot image what possible expenses they'd deduct, because they have zero financial risk being an employee. And I'd imagine his benefits alone would equal around $15k to $20k. And then of course their pension which is available when they retire at 55.

That's a pretty good deal. And they get women fawning over them and the vox populi calling them heros. Then there's the guy in the private sector, who's painted to look selfish and evil. People like me. But we don't have unions to protect us, give us great pensions and benefits, and we actually create jobs. I created two last year myself. That aside, the real problems with LA and CA are the unions. They were one thing when they protected proletariats from the bourgeoisie in Charles Dickens' England, but they're something entirely different today, especially when allowed to collude with government and legislators.

I grew up in a milltown in the South. You can't get more working class than that. I'm almost 40 and I'm still paying off my college loans, so suffice it to say no one helped me out. Being happy? I know what makes me happy. The same things you mentioned: not having to worry about rent, not having to worry about food, etc. But without getting too personal here, I can safely say some of that worries me right now because of what I owe to the taxman. And probably nine to eight years back I was in a really, really bad place, yet the taxman cometh. I tried to cash a honkey check, but apparently those don't exist. I guess being white only goes so far contrary to modern lib rhetoric.

What I find interesting is if someone like me bitches that the tax is too high, which it is, then some of you complain I'm selfish and refusing to pay my fair share. But isn't it you, the statists who believe in stealing my money to give to others, that are actually being selfish by laying the tax burden so heavy on the middle class? Specifically income tax.

In reply to this comment by NetRunner:
Okay, so LA has a problem. It's not a nationwide epidemic, the average pay for firefighters simply isn't that high. Members of congress get paid $174,000 a year, the President gets paid $400,000/yr. You probably shouldn't be paying the average firefighter more than a House freshman, and the Fire Chief more than the President.

As for your architect, I'm not surprised by that at all. If you want to tell that as a story about taxes, you're probably going to have to at least provide an example of how the math works out so that you make less owning your own business than working for someone else solely because of taxes. I bet it's mostly due to the fact that there's not really a big market for a mom & pop architect out there even in good times, and especially given the state of the real estate market right now. Running your own business isn't easy, and it's certainly not the way to get yourself a stable source of take home income in a depressed economy.

I'm of two minds about your last paragraph. Someday I think I'm going to write some big blog posts about my life, and how it shaped my political outlook. For now, I'll just say I did ultimately have a privileged life compared to most, but not by as much as you seem to assume. I'm no trust fund baby -- and I went to school with enough of those to know the difference. I have a shitload more in common with the poor working class people in the neighborhood I grew up in than I do with the trust fund set I went to school with.

The trust fund set generally felt like accumulation of wealth and status was the primary route to happiness. The more working class people in my neighborhood saw money as more of a means to an end. Happiness for them was being able to not have to worry about whether they could afford groceries, or worry about their car breaking down, or having to borrow to make rent/mortgage payments, or medicine for sick kids. They didn't really care about having the nicest clothes, a nice car, gourmet foods, or who had membership to the more prestigious country club. Those were things my rich friends talked about constantly.

I grew up constantly switching between class experiences. Over time it made me see pretty clearly that money isn't the key to real happiness. I saw lots of unhappy rich people, and lots of happy poor people. Their outlook on life had more to do with things other than money.

Anyways, it sounds like you think you're engaged in a class struggle to try to help the lower classes get a leg up on the rich. If so, great, you and I are on the same side then.

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Dude, is it so hard to believe a public employee makes $12,000 a month? That's only $144,000 a year, not $1.4 million. It's possible. Especially since so many groups are unionized in this state.

[snip]

My CPA also told me a story of an architect who got tired of struggling as a small business and having to pay so much in taxes, so he quit the private sector to make more money working for the city. You wanna call BS on my apocryphal architect?

And I do care about the taxes I have to pay. I envy you that you don't. You must've had a great life as a lawyer's son. Always having more than you owe. I wish we all could come from there so we could also take the same sanctimonious positions you do. Only people of privilege seem to say things like, "money isn't everything." As if they scowl at the rest of us for wanting better for ourselves. Now excuse me while I go back to that mom of yours I was fucking when I told you this story.

Okay, so LA has a problem. It's not a nationwide epidemic, the average pay for firefighters simply isn't that high. Members of congress get paid $174,000 a year, the President gets paid $400,000/yr. You probably shouldn't be paying the average firefighter more than a House freshman, and the Fire Chief more than the President.

As for your architect, I'm not surprised by that at all. If you want to tell that as a story about taxes, you're probably going to have to at least provide an example of how the math works out so that you make less owning your own business than working for someone else solely because of taxes. I bet it's mostly due to the fact that there's not really a big market for a mom & pop architect out there even in good times, and especially given the state of the real estate market right now. Running your own business isn't easy, and it's certainly not the way to get yourself a stable source of take home income in a depressed economy.

I'm of two minds about your last paragraph. Someday I think I'm going to write some big blog posts about my life, and how it shaped my political outlook. For now, I'll just say I did ultimately have a privileged life compared to most, but not by as much as you seem to assume. I'm no trust fund baby -- and I went to school with enough of those to know the difference. I have a shitload more in common with the poor working class people in the neighborhood I grew up in than I do with the trust fund set I went to school with.

The trust fund set generally felt like accumulation of wealth and status was the primary route to happiness. The more working class people in my neighborhood saw money as more of a means to an end. Happiness for them was being able to not have to worry about whether they could afford groceries, or worry about their car breaking down, or having to borrow to make rent/mortgage payments, or medicine for sick kids. They didn't really care about having the nicest clothes, a nice car, gourmet foods, or who had membership to the more prestigious country club. Those were things my rich friends talked about constantly.

I grew up constantly switching between class experiences. Over time it made me see pretty clearly that money isn't the key to real happiness. I saw lots of unhappy rich people, and lots of happy poor people. Their outlook on life had more to do with things other than money.

Anyways, it sounds like you think you're engaged in a class struggle to try to help the lower classes get a leg up on the rich. If so, great, you and I are on the same side then.

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Dude, is it so hard to believe a public employee makes $12,000 a month? That's only $144,000 a year, not $1.4 million. It's possible. Especially since so many groups are unionized in this state.

[snip]

My CPA also told me a story of an architect who got tired of struggling as a small business and having to pay so much in taxes, so he quit the private sector to make more money working for the city. You wanna call BS on my apocryphal architect?

And I do care about the taxes I have to pay. I envy you that you don't. You must've had a great life as a lawyer's son. Always having more than you owe. I wish we all could come from there so we could also take the same sanctimonious positions you do. Only people of privilege seem to say things like, "money isn't everything." As if they scowl at the rest of us for wanting better for ourselves. Now excuse me while I go back to that mom of yours I was fucking when I told you this story.

Making a film is as good of an excuse to get some street meat as any.

I enjoyed picking out the locations: Yonge/Bloor, Yonge/Shuter, Bay/Queen, Union Station to name a few... I may just have to cruise over to my guy in front of Sick Kids & grab one now!

Edit: Trancecoach said it much better ^ ^ ^ ^

"Men/man" are not being said in most circumstances because the male sex is the norm in our discourse, and therefore almost everything gender neutral and associated with the male sex is usually ascribed to men. What this dude forgets to mention is that this has both positive and negative effects on men as a group and individuals. A man who takes a day off to take care of his sick kids is a fucking hero to women. A woman just does her job. A man who doesn't take a day off is completely ok, but if a woman doesn't she will be seen as selfish and uncaring.

This video only polarizes the debate by saying that feminism is to be blamed for misandry. Certain feminists (read idiots) surely hate men, but they are not the norm. Most educated feminists I've met (there are exceptions and like I said before they are idiots) agree that both men and women lose out due to how our language assumes men as the norm and women as the exception; how language is skewed to see for example aggression and dominance as manly and something to strive for and giving in to another's wishes as being a pussy, instead of it being considerate and socially intelligent.

His claim that you never hear about men being raped used to be accurate, but not any more. I see it more and more in the news here in Sweden, as well as news reporting women who physically abuse and sexually harass men.

And the ramblings about "women and children" actually says more about how women, rather than men, are seen: as helpless persons comparable to children that men have to protect. He has some points such as using neutral words to dehumanize individuals to make mistreatment easier and the fact that what is not said can be just as important as what is said. In general, though he just takes random clips which support his view. Talk about being biased.

He makes it sound as though this is some sort of secret plot, which I find ridiculous. The exact same thing could be argued about being white vs being black, being Christian vs being Jewish or Muslim, for eating meat vs being a vegetarian, for being a drinker vs a non-drinker and so on. It has to do with certain things being the norm and others being seen as the exception. The exception is always pointed out. Yes it is horrible that all men gets accused of being rapists, murderers and paedophiles but this video just sucks.

Sorry bro

Summary: A secret plot by feminists is not the reason why "men/man" is left out a lot in our language, normative associations are. The exception is always made explicit, the norm is expected and is therefore not made explicit.

Being happy to do something, and being able to do something, are unfortunately the difference between someone elses life/wealth and death/poverty.

>> ^KnivesOut:

>> ^volumptuous:
Funniest thing I've read all year!
I mean, we all know that insurance companies and for-profit hospitals would never in a million years turn away a sick kid! So then, this is funny. It's a funny statement, and BF was just being sarcastic.
>> ^blankfist:

I'd doubt a hospital would turn away a sick child.

>> ^volumptuous:

Funniest thing I've read all year!
I mean, we all know that insurance companies and for-profit hospitals would never in a million years turn away a sick kid! So then, this is funny. It's a funny statement, and BF was just being sarcastic.
>> ^blankfist:

I'd doubt a hospital would turn away a sick child.

Funniest thing I've read all year!

I mean, we all know that insurance companies and for-profit hospitals would never in a million years turn away a sick kid! So then, this is funny. It's a funny statement, and BF was just being sarcastic.

>> ^blankfist:

I'd doubt a hospital would turn away a sick child.

>> ^mentality:
> I hope you're joking. That's about as ignorant as Bill Maher's view on vaccines.

I'd agree with Dag. Hospitals are amazingly intimidating, they seem to give a sense of foreboding fear that something is wrong. I hate them, hate them with a passion. Might have something to do with my sister spending 80% of her childhood there but ... who knows, and they go out of their way to make sick kids hospitals more friendly. I've spent a few times there myself(because of critical surgery, or other surgery), but even if people are sick I avoid going there unless I'm in excruciating pain, dying, or I can't get cut open somewhere else.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'charity, animals, make a wish, sick kids, charity, uh uh uh' to 'charity, animals, make a wish, sick kids, charity, uh uh uh, heartbreaking story, tits' - edited by calvados

I'm somewhat torn on this issue. I'm a Canadian that very much appreciates the advantages of my health care system, but I'm primarily libertarian and pro-capitalism. Certain services, such as police, fire, and medical care are all important enough that I don't mind the cost being shared.

You'll forgive me if I don't shed a tear for the family making $500,000+ annually at having to share 0.3% of their earnings with those who have medical needs. They'll survive, while the uninsured poor may not. Consider it a small price to pay for living in a civilized country.

One of my sons was born with a heart defect and spent 4 months in intensive care. I was told that U.S. patients in the same intensive care unit would run a bill of about US$200,000 for that length of time. He later had heart surgery and spent another month at Sick Kids in Toronto. For the sake of my son, I wouldn't trade our health care system for anything.

As for the lottery story... that really sucks, and I hadn't heard of that. But it's far, far from the norm; it's an anomaly. There are family doctors accepting patients in the city I live, and that's the norm.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'charity, animals, make a wish, sick kids, charity' to 'charity, animals, make a wish, sick kids, charity, uh uh uh' - edited by ponceleon

Tags for this video have been changed from 'charity, animals, make a wish, sick kids' to 'charity, animals, make a wish, sick kids, charity' - edited by kronosposeidon